Book Reviews and Happy New Year

Finished reading "Unhallowed Ground" .... the first half was rather slow, but the second half produced a good story. I understand that an author needs to set up the story, but did she need to do it for almost 200 pages before it got good?

Now am reading "Bridget Jones's Diary". Verdict so far? Hilarious. I of course have seen the movie more times than I can count, and I have had the book for a long time, I've just never gotten around to reading it. Bridget in the book is even more funny than in the movie (didnt think that was possible!). There is so much more to her even, her paranoia of being a "thirty-something-singleton", her self-consious image of herself, and how she interprets men. She is what I will be like in my thirties if I am: still single, living in London, and a bit more crude and promiscuous. That last one isnt likely, so maybe just the first two.


Signing of on my last post of 2009. Happy New Year ya'll, may it be merry and bright.

Currents:

watching: The Blind Side (so amazing... I cant even explain! haha)

listening: Sugarland's Christmas Album

reading: Bridget Jones' Diary (love it!)

drinking: Starbucks Peppermint Mocha

wearing: my oh so lovely pj's!

:::Sucky Sequels:::

Today at work my friend Zack and I were trying to name our Top-Five-Most-Hated-Sequels-Of-All-Time.

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We started off:

SPEED 2 ... bad, just really bad.

Then we decided that ALL the DISNEY SEQUELS are bad... not a good one out there!!! (why do they keep making them when they go straight to video?!?!) we couldn't figure that one out!

The third would be OCEANS 12... honestly, I fell asleep during it in the theater. Yes, it was that bad!

The other one we agreed on was THE FAST AND FURIOUS sequels... dumb. Thats the only word I can think of!

And the fifth: honestly? There is no fifth! I LOVE sequels... even if they suck, I have to watch them, just to see for myself.


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Some of my favorite sequels:

Rush Hour
Miss Congeniality
Legally Blonde
Pirates of the Caribbean
Twilight/New Moon
Meet the Parents/Fockers
Bridget Jones
National Treasure
Elizabeth
Home Alone
The Santa Clause
Transformers
Alvin and the Chipmunks


Ohhhh this list could go on and on!

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Ok, peace out, I've got to go pop in a movie! Haha

ps- Merry New Year! :)

Afterthought

I read a lot... I mean, a LOT.
In addition to crocheting like a madwoman!

More "Recently Read"

Finished Angels and Demons... now I need to watch the movie again... great real time book, long, but keeps you reading!

Finished the romance A Family of Her Own... cheesy chick book, but good none the less!

Almost done with Unhallowed Ground by Heather Graham ... slower first half, but the second half has really picked up! Its a suspense mystery romance....

Funny thing... I realize the older I get, the more of what I read are things my grandma reads... weird realization! :)

My Dad sent me this.....

98% OF AMERICANS SAY 'OH SHIT' BEFORE

GOING IN THE DITCH ON A SLIPPERY ROAD.


THE OTHER 2% ARE FROM OHIO AND THEY SAY,

'HOLD MY BEER AND WATCH THIS.'

Updated Reading List

"Yes My Darling Daughter" gets and "A"

Now on to "Angels and Demons" by Dan Brown

so far, its an "A" haha, as was his "Davinci Code"

Recently Read:

A+ The Help, Kathryn Stockett

A- The Road, Cormac McCarthy

B Midnight, Dean Koontz

A+ The Shack, William Young

next in my hands:
Yes My Darling Daughter, Margaret Leroy

This Is It

I recently went to see the Michael Jackson movie "This Is It". I had always wanted to see him in concert, and since his death, I knew this would be the closest to that dream I would ever get.

I loved it, and I was reading some blogs today, and this one captured many of the things and emotions that I felt while watching.

Enjoy reading: thisisit

more FALL......

Best Season: Fall!!!!!!

Did I mention I love Fall?!?!!? because I do! My Birthday is in the Fall, if I ever get married, I want to get married in the Fall, I start wearing my scarves in the fall, omg, I LOVE the Fall!!!

this Fall, this is some of what I've seen:

Farmers Market and Craft Fairs!

recycled crayon discs

This summer on Thur. nights, I would head out to Tallmadge to participate in their Farmer's Market. Didnt sell much, and then I got a babysitting job for thur nights, so I couldnt do the market anymore, but while I did it, I learned a lot! Its great to get direct feedback from people on my products. It seems most are drawn to certain items, and not so much others :)





One lady stopped by and requested I make some of these crocheted-button-hand-towels. I didnt think people still bought these things, but apparently there is some type of market for them, so I made a couple... I had the yarn, and plenty of buttons, so all I had to do was buy a pack of towels and get down to business.



Now I am bulking up my inventory for the four craft fairs in November that I will have a table at. So if you're in NE Ohio, stop by and support local art!!!

www.craftygoodnessatcalvin.blogspot.com
Summa Health Systems Craft Fair, NOV. 12 - Akron City Hospital
Candy Cane Junction Craft Show, NOV. 21 - Akron

and finally, there is one in tallmadge, and I'll post that location later when I can find it haha

To see the types of things I will feature: www.shystiches.etsy.com

SCARF SEASON!!!!!

Its SCARF SEASON!!!! Time to break them out people!!!! Its about 50 degrees and rainy here in NE Ohio, and that deffinitely means its time to wrap my neck with sweet, hand crocheted creations!!! Check out my etsy shop for some warm creations!

New Mannequin!!!

Well, not new, but new to me!!!! Its my new favorite accessory! A woman who's wedding I am planning knew someone who was getting rid of one, and, vola!!! Its mine!!! She is so pretty, and is going to help me so much with taking pictures for my etsy shop!!!!

Etsy Vintage Wedding Dress!

I FINALLY put up this wedding dress on my etsy page... I've had it for a while, but never seemed to take the time to put it up! Tabitha (my sister) modeled for me, and it seemed a perfect fit, besides the hem line, but thats just because she is short! haha

Couple books I have read lately that I would reccomend:

Three Dog Life

Nights in Rodanthe

A Virtuious Woman

The DaVinci Code

and currently reading: Book 3 of the Mitford series, These High, Green Hills ... so good!

Click on my sidebar to get to amazon and buy them used!!! ***great way to "recycle" versus buying new books!

Just got: CUPCAKES! from the Cake Doctor!!! Cant WAIT to bake!!!!!

also, had the MOST amazing time with Katie today at the thrift and el Meson! yum!

currents.....

Feeling: supper sick, for the last 4 days!

Reading: still atonement

Watching: Horton Hears a Who... pretty funny!

Drinking: lots and lots of hot tea

Currents:

Watching: Everybody Loves Raymond reruns

Reading: Atonement, Ian McEwan

Drinking: Water (very needed after all the wine consumed Saturday... more on that later!)

Sitting: In bed, ready for bed, loving my bed :)

Family Reunion

Each year our "Family Reunion" gets smaller and smaller, to the point where we cant really justify calling it a reunion anymore... its more like a family-get-together-potluck-lunch-time-thing. Here is a picture of this year:

Probably our last, until one of the grandkids (thats my generation...) has kids of their own. Problem is, I am the oldest grandchild, so I guess I better get crackin' huh?

oh boy...

Maxed Out

Years and years ago, I Netflixed a documentary called Maxed Out. It talks about our debt as a nation, and especially, as young people. It also talks about people's way out... and a main method is suicide. When you go to college, one of the first things you see are booths of people trying to get you to sign up for clubs, organizations, and credit cards. The way the credit card tables get you is by offering free tshirts, or water bottles, etc. if you sign up. Speaking from experience... I signed up for two cards the first day. I already had 4 in my name. That made six. Eventually, it got up to 8. Yes, 8 cards, and over $40,000 in credit card debt... as a 21 year old.

My options: ignore it, bankruptcy, ignore it, pay what I could, ignore it, or suicide. The last seemed like the easy way out. I could just give up and that would be the end. What I ended up doing was a combination of paying what I could, ignoring it, and contemplating suicide. I became more and more depressed, and thoughts of suicide were sometimes more frequent than others, but deep inside, I knew that it wasn't fair to my family, friends, or myself. I eventually went to my dad for help, and he helped me get set up with a credit counseling service to consolidate and lower my monthly payment. That is probably the best option for those of you in debt.... short of winning the lottery and paying it all of in one day... haha. (ps- tried that... I never won) :)

So back to Maxed Out... in part of it, parents of young people who commit suicide because of overwhelming debt tell their story. I will never forget watching it in my bedroom and sobbing and sobbing as I watched it... I could feel the pain that the young people were feeling, and see the hurt that the parents had... it tore me apart... I related on so many levels. It was so TRUE and REAL! It was incredibly comforting to know that I wasn't alone... I wasn't the only one going through this hell. My life sucked, but so did others, and it was wrong. Its not necessary. The documentary shows the tricks that credit card companies pull on you, they prey on ignorant, young people who don't even have money to pay their bills, and they create more bills for them! It is such a vicious cycle.

Please, if you are in a sickening amount of debt, or know someone who is, watch this documentary, and know that there are ways out and people to help you. Its never so bad that you have to end your life and take that away from your family, friends and yourself.

Right now, I am about half way through paying off my credit card debt. I am almost 24, and still have a lot left. I live with my parents because I cant afford any other place, I have nothing to show for what I have spent, not even an education. But I am not giving up, even though sometimes it still seems that that might be easier.

The reason I've been thinking about this is that an old friend called me today and left a message saying that he was thinking about me because he was watching that documentary. And he told me how thankful he was that I didn't chose suicide. That I chose to fight, because if not, he wouldn't have known me, and become my friend. Even as I write this, I am brought to tears, just as I was while listening to his message. I have never had anyone say something like that to me who seemed to understand the gravity of my debt.

Thank you JW, thank you.

grrrrrr

Its a bird...

Its a plane...

No, its the blasted Goodyear Blimp


Its seems that lately the confounded Blimp has a new route when it flies, and that route crosses directly ABOVE my bedroom. And, for those of you who dont know, blimps are LOUD... they are not like hot-air balloons, they roar. And to make matters worse, when the Cavs were playing, the blimp would fly up to the Gund Arena (I will not call it by its "official" name, and that goes for Jacob's Field too) and then fly home after the game at about 11pm, which for most isnt a big deal, but when you go to bed at 9pm, and get woken up 2 hrs later with what sounds like a fighter plane outsied your bedroom window, it sucks!

So, in conclusion, I am not so pleased with our local blimp right now... that is all..

ps- currently enjoying an iced vanilla coffee and watching friends.... bliss!

Coffee Connoisseur

Some of you may, and some of you may not know that I love coffee. I love the smell, I love the taste, I love the varieties, I love it in the morning, and I love it in the evening. I love coffee. As you can tell from some of my previous posts, Dunkin Donuts is my current coffee of choice. "What?! Dunkin?! That's trash!!!!" you may say... however, to counter that, I must say that a large coffee with cream and sugar from Dunkins (only 99cents on Mondays!) is smooth and rich, with a nice aroma and a polished after taste. It is also extremely cost efficient when it comes to buying coffee at a coffee shop, and has many drive-thru locations.

More on Dunkin later... my new mission is to be a Coffee Connoisseur. Staring in NE Ohio, and perhaps spreading out from there, it will be my mission to find the best coffee, at the best price, wherever I go. I will try my best to be objective, knowing that what I like, isn't always what others like.

For my first review, I chose McDonalds McCafe Iced Mocha with skim and whip. I was hoping for a refreshing coffee drink. I wasn't too disappointed, aside from the powdery after taste... The presentation was good, and it looked delish! I could definitely taste the espresso, that had a strong presence, and I could tell it was a mocha, but it was as if they pored Nestle's Quick (the 'q' for you Dane Cook fans) in in and it never dissolved... so the after taste was a bit unpleasant. So over all, the McDonalds on East Market St. in Akron gets a B- coffee rating.

Stay tuned for more coffee ratings!

currents...

reading: a Nora Robert's trilogy from a friend at work.... currently cant put it down!
drinking: naked juice: red machine
watching: nothing!
today: working out, relaxing on my day off, then to Kairos for din din!

:::currents:::

reading: Confessions of a Shopaholic, book 3
watching: Unforgettable Hollywood Tragedies on E!
wearing: pj's
eating: Panera cinnamon scone, and Dunkin coffee
mmm mmm good

A Special Valentine's Day Post

Valentine's is....

...A day for singles to stay inside, so they dont see the crowded restaurants, movies, and other fun places that people go on this day with their significant other.

...A day to stay inside, eat a whole box of heart chocolates by yourself and cry at the Lifetime Channel's love marathon.

...A day for, when you are watching that marathon, wondering "why cant this stuff happen to me?!?! for crying out loud!!!!!!"

...A day when strangers of the opposite sex say "happy valentine's day" to you, and it causes you to get weirded out.

...And Valentine's Day is, alas, just another day for us Singletons in Singleville...


ps- Its not too late!!! You can still go out and get a whole cheesecake, or a couple boxes of chocolate and curl up to watch Bridget Jone's Diary, and realize... there is still a chance!!!

Happy Valentine's Day!

etsy, etsy, etsy!!!

I love my etsy.com!

I recently added a link in my page to my flickr.com

account so that you can see more of what I make,

even if its not all in my etsy shop!

so click here to stir your creative brain!

Currents...

Currently reading: Jane Austen's "Emma"

Currently listening: Beyonce's "If I Were A Boy"

Currently drinking: Dunkin Coffee (mmm mmm good)

Currenly watching: Chocolat (Johnny Depp... also mmm mmm good)

Currently crafting: 3 hat and scarf sets, sold at $20 each to girls at work

Current mood: Content :)

Thank goodness for:

Brownies with frosting and powdered sugar on top!

Tampons... women, how would we function normally without them?!?!!

Jane Austen (for providing us with hours of passionate reading)

Having a job in 2009

Pretty snow (note: I said pretty... once it turns grey and slushy, ugggg!)